| European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre | |
| Abbreviation: | EMSC / CSEM |
| Type: | Not-for-profit NGO |
| Location: | Bruyères-le-Châtel, Essonne, France |
| Employees: | 10 (2016) |
| Region: | Île-de-France |
| Services: | Rapid Earthquake information |
| Fields: | Seismology |
| Membership: | 85 |
| Owners: | --> |
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC; French: Centre Sismologique Euro-Méditerranéen, French: CSEM) is an international, non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation.
The European-Mediterranean region is prone to destructive earthquakes.[1] When an earthquake occurs, a scientific organisation is needed to determine, as quickly as possible, the characteristics of the seismic event. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) receives seismological data from more than 65 national seismological agencies, mostly in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The most relevant earthquake parameters, such as the earthquake location and the earthquake magnitude, and the shaking felt by the population are available within one hour from the earthquake onset.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) is a not-for-profit organisation with 84 member institutes from 55 different countries. The centre was established in 1975 under the request of the European Seismological Commission (ESC).
The EMSC became operational on 1 January 1975, at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg. It received its final statute in 1983. In 1987, the EMSC was appointed by the Council of Europe as the main organisation to provide the European Alert System under the Open Partial Agreement (OPA) on Major Hazards.
In 1993, the EMSC statute and organisation were amended. Its headquarters moved to the Laboratoire de Détection et de Géophysique (LDG) within the Département Analyse, Surveillance, Environnement (DASE) of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), in Bruyères-le-Châtel (Essonne, France).
As an international, non-governmental and non-profit organisation, the EMSC also focuses on promoting seismological research within and beyond its community. Hence, the EMSC is involved in many European (FP7 and H2020) projects:
FP7 projects:
H2020 projects
Other projects:
The main scientific objectives of the EMSC are:
EMSC has developed a new approach based on internet traffic analysis: when an earthquake occurs, witnesses rush on the EMSC website to look for further explanation of the event. Therefore, they create a surge in the website traffic which can indicate that an earthquake just occurred, even before receiving data provided by national seismological institutes. By identifying the geographical origin of the website's visitors, the area where the earthquake was felt is mapped within a couple of minutes of its occurrence. This technique is named flashsourcing.[2]
Citizens are a primary source of information in the real-time earthquake detections. EMSC involves them in earthquake response by collecting in-situ information (e.g., questionnaires, pictures, videos) on the earthquake impact directly from the earthquake eyewitnesses. Consequently, by involving the citizens in the response, the EMSC paves the way for an efficient strategy to raise seismic risk awareness.[3]